“If you still love me, there’s still a chance for us to get back to where we were before he got shot.”
She releases a breath. “There’s not, though. You have Isabella to watch over now, and I can’t be a part of it.”
Steel forms in my chest. “The results aren’t back yet.”
Dorothy tilts her head and smiles. “If she’s willing to take a paternity test, I’m sure she knows who the father is.”
“I thought you said you’d stay with me and help me if that was the case.”
“I feel terrible going back on my word and hurting you, but things are different now. Please try to understand.”
I press back in my seat and give it all I’ve got. “Say I get your job back. Would you consider staying here, then?”
CHAPTER 15
DORI
What doI say to that?
Moving to Miami with Jami would be a dream come true, but I loved working at Efron Worldwide. I worked so hard to get there, and I don’t want to just give up on it working out in my favor.
A mixture of guilt and excitement fill my insides. “Hunter, if you could get me my job back, I would take it in a heartbeat. I loved that job.”
“So you’re saying you would stay here?” His gaze jumps with hope.
“I’d love to have my job back. I’m ashamed that I lost it. My embarrassment is so bad I haven’t told anyone other than Melanie. And I didn’t tell her. She heard it from the rumor mill.”
“We haven’t posted the position yet, so the vacancy is there. All I have to do is wait for my dad to explain things to Gerald and Douglas, and they’ll back you again.”
I sigh. “But that’s not enough.”
“That only leaves two more board members my dad needs to sway. I don’t think it will be a problem once they see you aren’t trying to get money or take down the company.”
A thought comes to me. “About the money.”
He nods. “I was wondering if you were going to bring that up.”
“Well, while checking my bank accounts, I was confronted with an unexpected and substantial surprise. It wasn’t something I could ignore.” Unease pokes at my nerves.
“You knew that money was yours if you were terminated for breach of contract. I never hid that from you.” He absentmindedly turns his glass in a circle.
“Yeah, but I didn’t know it would automatically be deposited in my account.” I swallow. “Having fifty million dollars in my account isn’t something I’m comfortable with.”
“Don’t do anything with it yet. If you get your job back, we can talk about what you want to do with it.”
I raise my brows. “I’m giving it back, no matter what.”
He rests back in his chair, his green eyes shining back at me. “I’m in awe of you.”
“Why?”
“Because most people would take the money and run. You don’t even have your job and you want to return it. That says a lot about you.”
I cross my legs and fold my arms, trying to hold the nervousness flowing through my veins. “You know I’m not about the money.”
“I know. It’s one of the many reasons I love you.”
We remain in a heavy stare. The room seems to get smaller as if we’re the only two in the restaurant. Memories of our time together fill my mind.
